Page 53 of Twice as Tempting

“That Gracie, huh?” Alex said and smiled across the table at Kelly.

Kelly smiled in return, but she wondered where Alex was going with this. It was no secret that she was all for Damian and Kelly being together, and Kelly recognized that light in her eyes. “Yes, she’s adorable,” Kelly admitted.

“As for Damian. Well, you know that I love my son very much, but…”

“Mrs. Kostas…”

“No, dear. Let me finish. But sometimes Damian can be stubborn.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Kelly said, and she looked over at Emma, who was trying to suppress a laugh.

“But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t feel things,” Alex continued. “When he loves, he loves deeply. Whatever he does, he puts his whole heart into it. He may be a man of few words, but still waters…”

“Run deep,” Kelly finished.

“I’m not trying to make excuses for him. I’m just trying to give you some insight into who he is.”

Kelly found it endearing that Alex was advocating for her son, but that didn’t stop her from being irritated with him. And then, speak of the devil…

“Hey,” Damian said, and he glanced around the table warily. “Kell, do you want to go out on the boat now?

He sounded apologetic and hopeful, and Kelly felt some of her anger slip away. “Ok,” she said and stood up from the table.

“Have fun you two,” Alex called as Kelly followed Damian out of the room.

When they were back outside, Kelly looked out at the dock, where Joe and Zack stood by the boat. Kelly stopped in her tracks and put her hand on Damian’s arm to get his attention. “Um, is that the boat you were talking about?”

He gave her an amused grin. “Yep. Is there a problem?”

Kelly peered around him at the dinky aluminum rowboat and said, “Well, when you mentioned a boat, I was picturing something a bit…”

“Bigger?”

“Or at least sturdier. That thing looks like a dented tin can!”

“It’s seen better days, but don’t worry. You’ll be in good hands.”

It wasn’t his hands she was worried about. “I swore that I heard you and Zack talk about zipping around the lake on a speed boat.”

“That was when we still lived at home. Mom and Dad didn’t use it much after we moved out, so they sold it.”

“Hey, you two, are you going out or what?” Zack called from the dock.

“What’s it going to be, Kell?”

With the three Kostas men staring at her, Kelly felt like she had no choice. “Ok, fine.”

Damian climbed in first and then reached out to help Kelly get in while Joe and Zack kept the boat in place. Kelly wobbled for a few seconds until Damian steadied her and sat her on the hard metal seat. He took the seat facing her and grabbed the oars that were attached to the sides of the boat.

Joe and Zack shoved the boat away from the dock, and they were off.

“Don’t tip,” Zack warned as Damian rowed away, his laughter drifting out across the water.

“Jerk,” Damian hissed, but only loud enough for Kelly to hear.

The further away from shore they went, the more relaxed Kelly felt. She leaned her head back and soaked up the sun’s rays while Damian rowed them into deeper water. She must have closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when she opened them, Damian was eyeing her intently. When they had first started out, he’d had on a t-shirt and swim trunks, but now he had peeled off the shirt, and she was treated to a view of his magnificent bare chest.

“What?” she asked, trying not to stare.